January 28, 2011
The majority of female workers in the UK feel they are eligible for compensation on the grounds of sex discrimination in terms of their salary, as gender pay discrepancies reach 25% in some employment sectors.
According to a study conducted by My Salary Checker, 80 per cent of female workers are still feeling effects of a gender pay gap and believe they are underpaid in comparison to their male counterparts.
Of this percentage, some 38.2 per cent indicated that they felt they were being underpaid by as much as a quarter when performing identical tasks to colleagues who are men.
Furthermore, around one third of women are expecting to get a pay rise of between two and four per cent in 2011, in comparison to 28 per cent of males with the same aspirations.
Andy Powell from recruitment firm Adecco, one of the firms behind the My Salary Checker website, said: "It's particularly disturbing that female workers have the perception that they are underpaid but are not confident in understanding what they may be worth in the jobs market.
"We would actively encourage both male and female workers to understand what the market rate is for their role, taking a realistic view of their skills and experience.
"Understanding what you are worth is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when you are assessing a job offer, negotiating your salary, looking at qualifications or simply looking to make an impression in your role."
The Government recently attempted to reduce the pay gap with the introduction of the Equality Act 2010 in October last year and since being enforced; gender pay cases have rocketed throughout England and Wales.
